Two areas where I expect big improvement are in coverage and with TFLs. Those were his biggest strengths in Stillwater, and he flashed enough in those areas as a rookie that I think it’s only a matter of time before he does the same thing in the pros. Impact, difference-making plays, on top of the down-to-down consistency most of us expect. I think he’ll surprise us a little there.
But yeah he’ll never be a man-to-man eraser in coverage, nor will he purposely try and stack OL at the point of attack. He’ll avoid them or toss them aside.
I saw someone with a 1st round grade on him which seems cra-cra. I’m thinking #81 would be a sweet spot for him and the Lions. DL, OG and 2 CB would still fit in with our early picks.
Staying put until #152 wouldn’t get it done. Am I about right, or off in space?
I prize Henley less for the coverage and more for that Peanut Tillman like mentality. Dude is always going for the ball. I’d love to add both him and Forbes. You add in Kerby and a blossoming pass rush and we’re a turnover waiting to happen on D.
So I’ve been doing a deeper dive on the LBs and found a guy I’m pretty sure we’re gonna be interested in, Austin Ajiake, out of UNLV. Now this is just going off what I hear/read, I haven’t been able to do any real evaluation of him yet, but I’m excited to. Also I read the 49ers have spent a lot of time with him, and if he can fit with them he can fit with us.
He’s 6’1.5, 233 with 31 inch arms, he played at the Hula Bowl and did well enough to get the call up to the Shrine Bowl, where he tied for the lead in tackles on the East squad during the game. I don’t know much about his coverage chops yet, but I did find this clip from Senior Bowl practice going up against Tavion Thomas:
Also I found this. Tell me this isn’t the exact sort of guy Brad & Co are gonna want.
If he checks out athletically I fully expect at least a visit.
Levy was a stud, too bad injuries got him. Same with Boyd, injuries cut both their careers shorts and then of course Reggie Brown was going to be a star, terrible luck.
And Spielman and Tulloch was pretty solid as well. We’ve had a few good ones.
I’m not proposing anyone specifically or any particular avenue - I’m saying given the cap space and draft capital I hope they use Spielman to go get the team an eraser on the 2nd level. Barnes and Rodrigo are fine players, glad to have them, but they are complimentary players.
I agree… I think his quickness and speed helped him not look like a rookie quite often… but as he really gets used to the pro game… he should be able to make more impact plays with his athleticism.
I like him quite a bit, but while I think he’s a great athlete, he’s a bit slow as a processor. It makes him seem a little slower than he is. But when he trusts his eyes he’s a demon.
Lavonte David
Ht 6’1”.
Wt. 234.
Age 33.
Snaps. 1075.
Splits. 80/44 124 tackles
40 yd. 4.65.
Bench. 19.
Alex Anzalone
Ht. 6’3”
Wt. 241
Age turning 29
Snaps 1080
Splits. 77/48 125 tackles
40yd. 4.63
Bench 16
How is this guy an upgrade from Anzalone. They are almost mirror images of one another, with Anzalone being younger, slightly faster and, he now knows the Lions defense. I don’t see him as much of an upgrade.
If we use Spielman and get an eraser and he sits on the bench behind Anzalone you are going to have another Barnes. It doesn’t matter what they look like in college they all need NFL experience/snaps. You can continue to think some college stud will turn into an NFL stud, but that will not happen without enough snaps. As good as Parsons has been this year he too needed the NFL snaps (919 snaps), the same is true for Hutch (958 snaps). Both of these guys have had significantly more snaps in one year than Barnes has had in two. NFL snaps equal NFL experience, and in my opinion Barnes has been limited in both. I don’t understand why the Lion’s staff would draft a guy like Barnes and then give the-majority of the snaps to a guy who is now turning 29. If Barnes was not worth the snap investment then why draft him ??? You can not evaluate Barnes’ potential based on the limited sample size you have, not to mention the fact that they killed his confidence coming into his second year by benching him for 2 games, ( no defensive snaps / experience) , after the 1st game. I don’t get it.
If we draft another “ stud” linebacker” and he sits behind Anzalone for 2 years and he is given the same short leash afforded to Barnes, will we be any better than we are with Banes???